Today I’m sharing one of my favorite paintings: Gustave Courbet’s “The Source,” (1862). I love this piece for its softness, its mystery, and its realism. I love that she has her back to the viewer, challenging traditional expectations about gaze and power. In Ways of Seeing, John Berger talks about how so frequently, female subjects of the European tradition of classical painting look out, past the canvas, toward the “spectator-owner.” In other words, so often—almost always—nude women in paintings return the gaze of a man. And yet not here; not with Courbet. Here, the gaze is not only ignored; it is rejected. Delightful.
And, of course, I find that tiny hint of cellulite to be oh-so-wonderful. For me, there is nothing sexier and more empowering than what is real and true.
I hope you have a beautiful night and have a lovely weekend. Thank you so much for being here.
xoxo
Nicola